Restaurant Shake Up in Halifax
Changes on the restaurant scene here in town. Chef Ray Bear has left his namesake eatery and now Seven Wine bar is closing. Is this the decline of "fine dinning" as we know it? While Bish, Chives, daMaurizio and Gio still exist as "fine dinning", Fid has redefined itself as a more casual resto. Are more closures to follow. I know purse strings are tight, but is this just the beginning of restaurant closures?
boynamedsous
Sep 24, 2009 09:11AM
That is really too bad about Chef Bear. Halifax has lost a great chef!
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Where has Chef Bear gone?
He was out here [Edmonton] not too long ago as part of a lobster promotion and there was an article on him that mentioned the Hlfx restaurant.
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And we lost Sebastian's too, which had delicious French food. I'm not getting too worried yet though... does anyone know who the new chef at twelvefortyone (formerly Bear) is? If he trained under Ray Bear, I suspect it will still be good.
We still have Gio, Jane's (for brunch and more casual dining), Chives, Morris East, and while Fid has redefined itself the food is still unparalleled, IMO. It's probably the best overall value now in the city. Two other (unlikely) restaurants that offer very good food (same head chef) are the dining rooms at the two Halifax Delta's. Far better than most hotels, especially the dreadful Westin which just can't seem to get it together food wise, no matter how hard they try.
Cut Steakhouse and Grill and Onyx are pretty good too, if a tad on the pricey side.
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We've also recently lost Merchant's Seafood and Chop House (which was actually pretty good) and well as "gastropub" Minstrel's.
I agree with your assessment of Fid, best food in town and now best value as well.
There are still plenty of excellent dinning choices in Halifax.
I do not believe the new chef at twelvefortyone has worked for Ray Bear, though I could be wrong.
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